Age 21, April: Showcase
Do You Remember?
Today was finally the day. Every nerve in my body tensed up at the mere thought of it, but I couldn’t care. I even dragged Hara along with me, though she didn’t care at all about today as much as I did.
The EXO showcase. Joonmyun’s showcase.
Hara and I waited all afternoon for the doors of the stadium to open up, my anticipation consuming every fiber of my being as time ticked by. Hara laugh, resting a hand on my shoulder. “Freaking out, huh?”
I nodded. “I just can’t believe he made it this far.”
His group, EXO, already had two singles out, and they haven’t even debuted yet! Sure, it took a few teasers for me to finally see him, but when I did, I was shocked. A good shock, though. He looked a lot more mature than the last time I had seen him, with his side-shaven haircut and extra height. He was sleek, a suave aura looming around him. But I could still sense his caring and kind side that I knew him by. And his eyes… his eyes were the most drastic change. They were sadder than I remember. Eyes of a hard worker. Of sleepless nights. Of seven years of unsuccessful debuts. But he was still Kim Joonmyun to me, even if everything about him physically changed.
Hara nudged me, me out of my state of mind and back into the real world. “You have everything? It’s gonna be a long day.”
I smiled, slinging my backpack off my shoulders and into my hands. “Yep!”
“Tickets?”
“Front left.”
“Meet and greet passes?”
“Same pocket.”
“Snacks and water?”
“Big pouch!”
“Album?”
“Front right.” I had compiled an album of all the pictures we had taken together, just in case he didn’t remember who I was. Every photo of our parties, outings, and candids our parents had captured over the years… they were all there in this small album, ready to be shown.
“Su Min, don’t freak out about this,” Hara said, chuckling, “You said he picked the name Suho, for crying out loud! Don’t you think he’ll remember you, especially knowing him for what… fourteen years?!”
I paused, turning to her and shrugging. “I guess you have a point.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We finally got into the doors of the stadium at about 6pm. Hara and I pushed through the crowds of people to get to our seats, and the show wasn’t even going to start for another hour! Eventually, though, we got to where we were sitting for the night: first row balcony. They weren’t the greatest seats, but we were able to see the jumbo screen and the stage from up there, so they were tolerable.
As a last minute thought, waiting for the show to start, I pulled out my notebook from my backpack and a pen and started writing a note. To Joonmyun.
Myunnie,
Congratulations! After seven years, you finally made it! I am so proud of you right now. Actually, right now, I’m sitting in the balcony, hearing tons of girls screaming over you and your new group at the showcase. But I’m still proud! I told you then and I’m telling you now… you’re gonna be the greatest Hallyu star out there.
I’m coming to meet you at the meet-and-greet tonight, and that’s when you should be getting this. I really hope you remember me after so long, because I’ve never stopped thinking about you! I hope to talk to you soon! Fighting!
~Your best friend, Su Min
I ripped the piece of paper out of my notebook and folded it into fours, slipping it into the photo album.
Please remember me.
The lights suddenly dimmed and the fans, yet again, started screaming. I looked at Hara, who suddenly looked real excited. “The showcase is about to start, Su Min!”
The showcase is about to start.
A promo video, which seemed like a countdown, started to play on the big screens. I looked as every single member came up on the screen. Joonmyun was the third person to show up; I made sure to yell extra loud for him.
Once the video was over, they started their performance of ‘History’, their most recent prologue song. I was too far up, so I couldn’t see any of them too well.
“Hara, do you see him?!”
“No, but all six are out there! He’s definitely here! Just enjoy the performances and stop stressing so much! Save it for later!” She laughed and turned back to the performance, yelling, “They’re pretty good, Su Min!”
I chuckled, turning back to the stage. I knew exactly when his part was in the song, so I was waiting for the time he would perform.
But right when he was supposed to, a different guy started singing. I turned to Hara, my mouth agape. “I almost found him!!”
“That’s what happens when they have two sub groups!”
“They should have waited five seconds, though!”
Hara laughed at me again, patting me on the head. “You will get your chance, young one! Just wait!”
And again, I turned back to the stage, waiting for the moment where I would finally find him. But then the group merged into one whole group. Now I had to fish Joonmyun out of a group of twelve?!
Hara suddenly tugged on my sleeve, pointing towards the stage. “Su Min, I think I found him!”
“Where?!”
“Chain sweater and tribal pants!”
I leaned over the banister, trying to get a closer look. And she was right. There he was, my best friend, following his dreams in the worst outfit choice known to man. I couldn’t contain my excitement for him anymore. My heart was pounding, head spinning… it was all coming true. After seven years, there he was. I started jumping and screaming, turning to Hara and freaking out even more. “Hara!! Hara!!”
She laughed, jumping with me. “I know you’re excited, but-”
“I AM SO EXCITED, HARA!”
We turned back to the stage, finishing the performance. The stage suddenly went black, the boys were gone, and Leeteuk, the MC for the night, made his way onto the stage. He invited the boys back out and, one by one, made their way back out. I smiled when I spotted Joonmyun; he was smiling at everyone with the biggest smile I had ever seen in my entire life. He had worked hard, but he was happy.
They all started individually introducing themselves. First was Tao, followed by Baekhyun, Xiumin, and Chen. Then Joonmyun was next. He took a deep bow and placed his microphone close to his mouth, smiling as always.
“Hello! I am the guardian of our members and the leader of EXO-K, Suho!”
Fans all around me were screaming, waving signs, and flashing their light sticks as he was talking. I was completely silent, however; all I could do was smile with him.
As all the introductions finished, Leeteuk stated that they were going to do performances from their teaser videos. As time went by, though, Joonmyun wasn’t in any of them. Not one.
“Hara,” I asked, “Why don’t you think Joonmyun is in any of these?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, but this boy here… Kai? He’s cute!”
I sighed. Oh, Hara. Always looking at the cute boys.
We went through six teasers. Six teasers of dancing, singing, and high-flying ‘Kung-fu Panda’ Tao. After a great performance from D.O. and Baekhyun (or I think they were D.O. and Baekhyun), the lights suddenly went black again and the jumbo screens turned white, revealing clips from Joonmyun’s teaser video. Every clip of him was special for this slideshow, then pictures started being displayed. Pictures of pre-debut shoots and album jacket shoots. After the last picture was shown, the lights went black again and went right back to performances.
Throughout the slideshow, I could only feel tears streak down my cheeks, thinking of the years he had spent working so hard to get where he was that day; how long it must’ve felt, how hard he worked. I could only feel happiness and joy for him at that moment, not anger towards the company or the other members for hogging up stage time. Just the fact that Joonmyun was finally where he wanted to be was all that mattered to me at that moment.
They finished up their teasers and started the interview Leeteuk had prepared. Throughout, though, I was surprised that Joonmyun was answering so many of the questions. Back home, Joonmyun was very reserved and didn’t talk to many people, even though he was very friendly with everyone at school. I was real happy he was able to talk more, though; I mean, he’s leading a group! I was relieved to know he was protecting and helping his other members the way he used to help me.
As the interview finished, the chairs were removed and they did their final performances of the night, ‘Into Your World’ and ‘MAMA’, which was supposed to be their debut track. The boys came back onto the stage, all in a line, and Joonmyun was holding a microphone, ready to speak.
“Thank you for coming to our showcase tonight, and we are deeply moved by all of you. From now on, we’ll do our best-,” he paused, looking down at the ground and catching a breath, “we’ll do our best not only in Korea and China, but also worldwide. Please give us great support continuously! We’ll also present the best performance in China. Thank you!”
And with that, the boys exited the stage, the lights dimmed one last time, and fans started clearing the aisles. Hara and I looked at each other at the same time, yelling, “THAT WAS AWESOME!!!”
We laughed, waiting for the rest of the fans to clear out so we didn’t have to push through any of them. As we sat, we talked about the showcase and all the great things we had seen.
Suddenly, Hara looked at me, a little concerned. “Su Min, are you ready for this?”
The meet and greet. I had almost forgotten about that. “Never more in my life.”
Joonmyun, you finally did it.
Sorry if it rambles, guys! Stomach flu and catching a cold? Yuck!
Bundle up... it's gonna start getting cold soon!
And yes, if you possibly were wondering... I did watch the showcase again so I could be as accurate as possible. Yay, pickiness!
♥ ~Carly
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